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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29681832">The Unwanted Imprint (Jacob Black LS)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenclawgirl98/pseuds/ravenclawgirl98'>ravenclawgirl98</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:27:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,099</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29681832</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenclawgirl98/pseuds/ravenclawgirl98</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nichole Williams was adopted by the Cullens when she was fourteen. Unwanted by her actual family, Carlisle took her in, raising her as his own. For some of them, having Nichole there gives them some sense of normalcy, for others, they wish that Nichole had never come along. Enter Jacob Black. He hates the Cullens with a passion. Not only is his best friend in love with one of the bloodsuckers, but now he finds out that the newest addition to their family is his imprint. Will he continue to try and push her away, or will he accept that this was just meant to be?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jacob Black/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, Twilight FanFiction</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>TW: descriptive abuse, blood</p><p> </p><p><br/>April 30, 1991</p><p>"You good for nothing bitch!"</p><p>Thomas William's hand smacked across his daughter's cheek with enough force to send the fourteen-year-old girl sprawling to the ground. But no sound left her body. Sad as it was to say, she was far too used to this kind of treatment by now, she had been enduring it for the past three years, ever since her mother had died. </p><p>But tonight would prove to be far worse than most nights. Thomas took a final swig from the bottle of beer that he had clutched in his hand before bringing the glass bottle down on Nichole's head. She bit back a sharp cry of pain, she could feel the blood trickling down the side of her face. It hurt like hell, but she was determined to not give him the satisfaction. So she remained silent.</p><p>This infuriated the drunken man. He kicked her swiftly in the side, then did it again. This continued until finally, Nichole let out a cry of pain, and Thomas smirked down at her. "That's right, cry. Cry like the little baby that you are. You shouldn't even be alive, you know that? Maybe I should just finish the job, right here, right now."</p><p>He had made threats like this before, but had never carried them out. However, tonight he seemed intent on it. Nichole's eyes widened as she watched him go into the kitchen, picking up a large knife, its sharpened blade glistening.</p><p>Nichole knew that she had to get out of here, or she really would die. So she forced herself to her feet, her injured side screaming in pain. Nichole felt like she could collapse at any given moment, but adrenaline pushed her forward, and she made it to the front door. Yanking it open, she stumbled down the steps, her father's shouts of rage encouraging her to go faster. She dashed into the nearby woods, the darkness caused by the late-night sky and the trees filled with leaves soon enveloping her. It was so thick that she couldn't see five inches in front of her face. She could hear her father behind her, screaming, cursing, but she knew that he wouldn't be able to find her, not now. But she still pushed on further, going deeper and deeper into the forest, until she couldn't remember which way she had come.</p><p>Nichole was lost, but at least she didn't have to run anymore. She collapsed to the ground, her breathing coming in short, ragged breaths. Nichole was exhausted now that the adrenaline had left her, she didn't even have the strength to get up. She could hear leaves crunching underneath the feet of someone approaching her, and for a brief second, she was terrified that her father had somehow managed to catch up with her. But the face that appeared in front of her wasn't her father's face. This face was a hundred times kinder. Pale, with honey-colored eyes that looked at Nichole with concern. The man seemed to be young, maybe about twenty-three or so. </p><p>Her father's shouts were in the distance, seeming to be nothing more than a whisper, but the man that was before her seemed to be able to hear them with perfect clarity. </p><p>"Did he hurt you?" He asked Nichole, and the teenager nodded her head, unable to do anything more than that.</p><p>"My name is Carlise Cullen, I'm going to help you."</p><p>Warning bells went off in Nichole's head. Strange man in the middle of the woods wanting to help a vulnerable teenage girl like herself? Yeah, that seemed really safe didn't it? But it wasn't like Nichole had any choice in the matter. She couldn't fight him off even if she wanted to, she had zero strength in her body.</p><p>Carlise scooped her into his arms, being careful of her injuries. "Don't worry..." He murmured in her ear as Nichole closed her eyes, the pain causing her to slip into a deep sleep. "You're safe now, no one is going to be able to hurt you ever again."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>TW: Mentions of abuse</p><p> </p><p>Carlisle brought the unconscious girl to his home, where Esme was standing in the doorway. "What's going on?" She asked him as Carlisle walked inside, placing Nichole down on a couch. "Who is that?"</p><p>"I found her in the woods while I was hunting." Carlisle explained. He rushed into his office, where his medical kit was. "There's a lot of bruising, hopefully there isn't any kind of internal bleeding. Someone had chased her into those woods, I could hear someone shouting her name. Whoever it was, she was terrified of them, possibly a family member."</p><p>"My God..." Esme whispered. She looked down at Nichole, who was still unconscious. </p><p>"Carlisle?" Edward appeared in the doorway, looking at his foster father. "Are you sure that it was a good idea to bring her here? You know that Jasper is still fairly new to our way of living. She has cuts and scratches all over. He's going to smell that as soon as he walks through the door."</p><p>"Have Alice take him somewhere until I can get her cleaned up."</p><p>"Carlisle, she can't stay here. You have no intentions of turning her. She's human, keeping her here would put us all in danger."</p><p>Carlisle sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. "I don't have a choice, Edward-"</p><p>"Yes, you do have a choice! Fix her up and then take her back to wherever it is that she came from."</p><p>"Edward, I can't do that."</p><p>Nichole groaned at that moment, and both men looked over at the teenager as she started to revive. Carlisle gave Edward a look before kneeling beside Nichole. "How do you feel?"</p><p>"Like I participated in a sumo match...and lost epically." Nichole responded, slowly sitting up.</p><p>"You have a lot of injuries, you mind telling me what exactly happened to you, and why you were running through the woods?" Carlisle shot Edward a look, telling him not to say anything. He knew that Edward had probably read Nichole's mind, and knew exactly why Nichole had been running through the woods. But Carlisle wanted to hear what happened from the girl herself, it would establish a level of trust between them.</p><p>But Nichole just shook her head. "It was nothing." She said to them. "Just me being stupid, careless."</p><p>"Sweetheart..." Esme spoke up then. "You can trust us. We know that this wasn't an act of carelessness, that someone hurt you."</p><p>"No, really, it was nothing." Nichole insisted. "Actually, I should probably be going."</p><p>"Well, at least let us feed you first." Esme looked up at Carlisle. "Darling, would you please grab her something to eat? Poor thing looks like she hasn't eaten in days."</p><p>Carlisle nodded his head, and he motioned for Edward to follow him out of the room, it was clear that Esme had a plan here.</p><p>"I really don't need anything to eat." Nichole objected, even though she was starving. She needed to get home, maybe her father was so drunk that by morning he would forget that this whole thing had ever happened. </p><p>"Oh nonsense, I can't let you leave without at least giving you a little something." Esme responded. "I don't think that your mother would be too happy with me if I were to do that, now would she?"</p><p>"I can't say." Nichole said as she shrugged her shoulders. "She died when I was younger."</p><p>"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that." Esme sat down next to Nichole on the couch, taking her hand, and Nichole shivered a little bit at how cold it was. Was she okay? Why did her hand feel so cold? </p><p>But Nichole was also feeling something else as well, she was feeling like she could trust Esme, like she could tell her everything that was going on in her life, how much of a hell it was, and not only would Esme understand, but she would try and help her if she could. </p><p>Esme seemed to sense what Nichole was feeling, and her voice softened a little bit. "What's your name?"</p><p>"Nichole. Nichole Williams."</p><p>"Nichole...why were you out there in the woods?"</p><p>Nichole bit her lip, looking down at her hands, which had started to shake a little bit. Esme took her hands to steady them, her grip firm and reassuring. "Nichole, my name is Esme Cullen. My husband Carlisle and I, we want to help you, we <em>can </em>help you, but in order for us to be able to do that, you have to tell me everything that's happened tonight."</p><p>Nichole nodded her head, swallowing thickly. "I guess that in order for you to completely understand, I have to go back a few years. my mother died when I was eleven, I was spending the night at a friend's house, it was my first sleepover, everything was fine until it was time for us to go to sleep. I...I was scared, I wanted my mom. So my friend's mom called her, and she came to get me. Well, on our way home, it had started to rain really hard, we could barely see a foot in front of us. There was a pickup truck that had been coming in the opposite direction, its tires lost traction on the road, it started to fly towards us..." Nichole fought back the tears that had sprung to her face. "I survived, Mom didn't. Dad took her death really hard, he started to drink, a lot. He blamed me for Mom dying, and I guess that he had a point. A lot of the time he drank to the point that he just passed out, but there were times that he didn't, and those times he was violent, angry. He would attack the person that was nearest him, and that was usually me. That was what happened tonight. But tonight was worse than it's usually been, tonight he had a knife in his hand, he...I'm fairly sure that tonight he was going to try and kill me."</p><p>Esme was silent for a moment. "Well..." She spoke slowly when she finally did talk. "Nichole, you're not going back there."</p><p>"But I have to, I don't have anywhere else that I can go."</p><p>"Yes you do, you can stay here with us." Esme didn't know how the others would take this yet, especially Rosalie, but it was something that she would deal with when it came time to deal with it. </p><p>"Oh, I couldn't do that." Nichole shook her head. Esme and Carlisle seemed like really nice people, but for them to just take her in like that? She didn't want to be a burden on them. "I'm sure that you have enough on your plate as it is."</p><p>"Nonsense. Nichole, everyone that lives here has some kind of past, they have things that they would give anything to forget. We're all broken in one way or another, so trust me when I say that you're going to fit right in here. Let me talk with my husband about it, but I'm sure that he would give no qualms about you being here."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She had been right about that, but as Carlisle pointed out, it wasn't him that they had to get the approval of. "We need to see what the rest of the family has to say about it, Esme, see what they think about it, probably put it up to a vote."</p><p>"And if we're outnumbered? We can't just put her back where she was. Her father almost killed her tonight, next time, he might just succeed."</p><p>"I wouldn't be bringing her back there, worst comes to worst, she goes into the foster system."</p><p>Esme definitely hadn't liked that idea. She'd heard a lot of things about the foster system, and Nichole wasn't going to be put in there, not if she could help it. "When will everyone be back?"</p><p>"It should be shortly. I had Alice keep Jasper away until we could get her injuries under control.'</p><p>"Nichole, her name is Nichole."</p><p>"Now that Nichole seems to be alright, we'll have everyone come back so that we can talk about things."</p><p>Esme nodded her head, she knew that the only thing that she could do now was wait and hope that everything would work in Nichole's favor. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Carlisle had thought that they might have some resistance, specifically from Edward and Rosalie, and as it turned out, he had been right about that. </p><p>"You want her to <em>live </em>with us?" Rosalie asked incredulously. They were all gathered in the living room,with Nichole having been moved into Carlisle and Esme's room for the time being,  and she was looking at Carlisle and Esme in shock. "Please tell me that you're joking."</p><p>"They're not." Edward murmured. "They have full intentions of having the human girl live here with us."</p><p>"Nichole." Esme said firmly. "Her name is Nichole."</p><p>"Well, it seems like you've already made up your mind about this." Rosalie spat, and Carlisle shook his head. "Nothing has been decided yet." He responded. "We wanted to get everyone's opinions about this before we decided what to do."</p><p>"Jasper is starting to get his blood lust under control." Alice spoke up. "Personally, I don't see any problem with having Nichole live with us. I know that I would love to have a younger sister." She seemed all for it, excited even, and she looked to Jasper to see what he had to say on the subject. </p><p>The former Civil War soldier nodded his head. "I think that I would be able to control myself if she were to live with us." He spoke slowly, deliberately, choosing his words carefully. "But there is just one problem. She has no idea what we are, and if she is going to be living with us, then she is going to have to be told. We don't know how she is going to react. She may be perfectly calm about it, but there is also the chance of her not being so calm about it."</p><p>"It's clear that everyone has differing opinions about this." Carlisle said as he moved his gaze between each of his family members. "Which is why we're going to put it to a vote."</p><p>"Well, my vote is no." Rosalie said sharply. "And if any of you say anything other than that, you're idiots."</p><p>"Having a human live with us would be dangerous and reckless." Edward said, siding with Rosalie on the matter. "What if the Volturi were to find out about it? I'm saying no."</p><p>"I think that she would be a nice change, for all of us." Alice stated. "Yes, it would be a risk, but I think that it's a risk that we should take, so my vote is yes."</p><p>"Jasper?" Carlisle asked, and Jasper was silent for a moment before responding. "It would be a definite risk having her here, but it would also be a pleasant change. We would be able to be around something alive, be around a human other than school hours. Ultimately, I don't think that the choice should be up to us, but to Nichole. She has to know about us, as well as know the risk of being associated with vampires. If she is willing to risk the dangers, then I see no problem with her being here."</p><p>Alice squealed and she hugged Jasper tightly, causing Carlisle to chuckle a little bit.</p><p>"I'm going to have to side with Alice and Jasper on this one." Emmett said after glancing nervously in Rosalie's direction. "I think that having a new person here would be pretty fun actually."</p><p>"You're undecided." Edward said to Carlisle. "We all know that Esme would like nothing more than to have Nichole join our family, but you are still unsure."</p><p>Carlisle nodded his head. "Nichole seems like a very nice girl and she would be a good addition to the family, but I have to say that the possible dangers involved give me pause."</p><p>"There would also be dangers if we were to turn her away." Esme snapped. "The foster system is no good these days, it could hardly care less about the children that are in its system."</p><p>"She would be better off there than here." Rosalie insisted. "A human living with a group of vampires? Esme, it would only be a matter of time before something was to happen to her, and you know that too."</p><p>Suddenly there was a gasp from Alice. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she had a deep frown on her face.</p><p>"Alice, what is it?" Carlisle asked urgently. "What do you see?"</p><p>"It...it's Nichole." Alice stated. "At least I think that it's her. She's in a foster home, but...but her father managed to regain custody of her. Hold on...I'm in a cemetery now, there's a gravestone in front of me, it says...it says Nichole Anne Williams, born August 2, 1992, died April 20, 2006."</p><p>"That's one month from now." Edward said in a quiet voice. "If she goes into the foster system, then she's going to die, exactly one month from today."</p><p>Silence filled the room after that, everyone knew that Nichole's fate had been decided. Carlisle wasn't going to put her in the foster care system, not now that they knew a likely outcome of it was going to be Nichole's death.</p><p>"I suppose that its been decided then." Carlisle said. "We have no choice, now. Nichole is going to be living with us."</p><p>"I can't believe this!" Rosalie shouted as she stood up. "You can't actually be considering this!"</p><p>"Rosalie, we don't have a choice." Carlisle said, his tone gentle but firm. "If we put her in the foster system, knowing that there's a great possibility of her being put back in the care of her father, then her death, if it happened, would be on our hands, and that is something that I am not going to let happen. Jasper is right though, the choice has to be hers. Alice, would you mind talking to her?"</p><p>"Of course." Alice responded with a nod of her head. "I'll tell her about us, as well as the vision that I just had."</p><p>"Thank you. After that, the choice is up to her. If she wants to remain here with us after that, wonderful. But if she wants to go back to her father or take her chances with the foster system, then we have no choice but to respect her wishes."</p><p>Rosalie scoffed and she stormed out of the room, and Emmett quickly stood up from his spot on the couch. "I'll go and talk to her." He said before quickly disappearing after her. It had been decided then. If Nichole agreed to it, then she had just become the newest member of the Cullen family. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nichole had been sitting cross-legged on the bed when there was a knock on the door, and Alice entered the room. "Hello Nichole, I'm Alice. Do you mind if I sit down? There's something that I want to talk to you about."</p><p>Nichole nodded her head. "Yeah, sure thing," she replied, and Alice smiled as she sat beside Nichole on the bed. "So...we were all just discussing things, and the majority of us, well...we would love it if you were to become a member of our family."</p><p>"Really?" Nichole asked in surprise, and Alice nodded her head eagerly. "Really. I'm one of the youngest, and I've always wanted a little sister. But before you can join our family and become a Cullen, there's some things that you need to know about us...but no matter what happens, you need to promise to not tell a single soul."</p><p>"Uh, alright." Nichole said. She figured that the family had some weird quirks or traditions or something like that. "I promise. Not that I have any friends to tell anything anyway." When Nichole's mother had died, the friends that Nichole had had slowly started to drift away, and Nichole realized that they hadn't really been her friends in the first place.</p><p>Alice took Nichole's hand, and the teenager shuddered at how cold it felt. "Alice, you're freezing."</p><p>"That's what tends to happen when blood stops flowing through your veins."</p><p>Well, that definitely hadn't been the answer that Nichole had been expecting. "You...what?"</p><p>"Nichole, my whole family, we aren't exactly human."</p><p>"Alice, you're starting to confuse me a little bit. What the hell are you talking about? How can you not be human?"</p><p>"We were human once. Nichole, everyone here...we're all vampires."</p><p>Nichole blinked. "Vampires?"</p><p>"But you don't have to be scared of us." Alice added quickly. "We're what you would call vegetarians, we only drink animal blood."</p><p>If she was expecting Nichole to be frightened, then she was going to be surprised. Nichole wasn't frightened, what she was more than anything else was intrigued. Nichole's mother had always told her to believe that nothing was impossible. "Do you have the, you know..." Nichole tapped her teeth.</p><p>"The fangs?" Alice chuckled before nodding her head, and Nichole watched in fascination as fangs grew out of the black-haired girl's mouth.</p><p>"Woah..." Nichole whispered, and Alice laughed. "Most people would run at the word 'vampire'."</p><p>"When I was little, my mom would read Bram Stoker's <em>Dracula</em> to me every night before bed. I've been fascinated with vampires and the supernatural ever since. What else can you do? The super-strength, immortality, is that all true too?"</p><p>"As well as super speed." Alice affirmed. Suddenly a thought occurred to Nichole. "To stay with you guys... am I going to have to become a vampire too?"</p><p>"No." Alice's answer was immediate. "No, we don't turn someone unless they're on death's door. And since you seem to be recovering from your injuries rather nicely, I don't think that Carlisle will see a need to turn you. Maybe later on down the road if that's what you want, but right now I don't see it as a possibility. Another thing that you need to know about us is that we have certain gifts that other vampires don't have. For example, I can see the future. My brother Edward can read minds."</p><p>None of the stories that Nichole had read said anything about vampires having unique abilities like that.</p><p>But another, much more worrying thought occurred to Nichole, and it had nothing to do with vampires or other supernatural creatures. "What if my father finds me?"</p><p>Alice frowned at that. "I don't think that he's going to, I haven't seen anything that suggested he would find you, but we were planning on moving soon anyway. Since we don't age physically, we can't stay in one place for any longer than a few years. I think that Carlisle mentioned something about moving to Washington, a small town called Forks. But don't worry, Nichole. None of us are going to let anything happen to you, I promise. You're family now, and we take care of family."</p><p>The concept of family had become almost a foreign thing to Nichole, it certainly wasn't something that she had experienced in recent years. </p><p>There was a gentle knock on the door, and Carlisle entered the room. "I gather that Alice has explained things to you?"</p><p>Nichole nodded her head. "She told me that you all are vampires, but that doesn't make any difference to me, you all seem like decent people."</p><p>"We try to be, as much as we can. We all have our moments where we slip, but to err is human after all. I must warn you though. Not everyone was on board with you joining our family. Most everyone was willing to welcome you with open arms, but Edward and Rosalie were a bit...hesitant about having a human living with us indefinitely. It's nothing against you, they just didn't think that it would be safe to have a human in a home filled with vampires." </p><p>Nichole nodded again, she could understand their concern. "If it's going to be too much of a problem for me to be here-"</p><p>"They'll grow acclimated to you in time. Besides, it is crucial that you remain here with us, for your safety in the long run."</p><p>"What do you mean?" Nichole asked as her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.</p><p>"Nichole..." Alice spoke in a quiet, gentle voice. "You remember how I told you that I can see the future?"</p><p>"Yeah..." Nichole's voice trailed off, she had a feeling that she wouldn't like what Alice was going to tell her, and it turned out that she was right.</p><p>"I had a vision." Alice continued. "It was a vision of the future, of <em>your </em>future. I saw you getting put into the foster care system, but somehow your father manages to regain custody of you, and you...you die. Exactly one month from today."</p><p>Nichole's mouth fell open in shock. "I...I die?" She repeated, and Carlisle nodded his head. "Naturally we couldn't let you go back to that kind of environment, especially not if it meant your life ending. Esme and I, we already feel an attachment to you, the same attachment that we feel for Alice and Edward and all of the others that we've taken in. We're going to take care of you, Nichole, remind you of what it's like to have a loving family. Your father isn't going to lay a single finger on you, we'll all make sure of that."</p><p>Nichole couldn't understand why they were all already so willing to protect her. They didn't even know her, not really, and they were already willing to go to great lengths to make sure that she didn't get harmed. Nichole quickly blinked back tears that had started to form in her eyes, but it was too late, Alice had already seen them.</p><p>"Are you okay?" She asked, and Nichole looked at her. "Yeah, I'm okay."</p><p>Nichole was more than okay. She was finally starting to feel whole again, to feel like she was wanted. Nichole thought that she was safe now, but more dangers and adventures awaited the fourteen-year-old, as she would find out in due time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Six Months Later</em>
</p><p>Nichole and the Cullens were comfortably settled in Forks by this point. Nichole and her siblings had been enrolled in school, and Nichole's fifteenth birthday was quickly approaching. </p><p>"What do you want for your birthday?" Esme was sitting with Nichole at the kitchen table. It was a sunny Thursday morning....which meant that none of them would be going to school that day. Nichole still found it slightly humorous that vampires sparkled in the sunlight.</p><p>Nichole shrugged her shoulders as she jotted down some answers in her workbook. On the days that she didn't go to school, she had workbooks that she would do so that she didn't fall behind in her schooling. "We don't really have to do anything, it's just a birthday."</p><p>"You don't turn fifteen every day, you know. It doesn't have to be anything big, we can invite some of your friends from school-"</p><p>"You mean my non-existent friends?" Nichole was kind of a loner at school when she wasn't with her siblings. </p><p>"Oh, Nichole..." Esme sighed softly, and Nichole looked down at the table. "I'm trying Esme, I really am. But every time that an opportunity to make a new friend comes up, I just...I freeze."</p><p>"Maybe it would be easier to make friends of you joined a sport or a club or something."</p><p>Nichole could see that Esme wasn't going to be letting this go. Esme wanted her to hang out with people outside of her siblings, but Nichole just didn't see the point in it. They would be moving again in a few years anyway, so did it even matter? But this clearly meant a lot to Esme, so the least that Nichole could do was try. "Alright, fine. Emmett has been trying to get me to try out for the track team anyway."</p><p>Esme grinned brightly. "Perfect, Rosalie will bring you to your first practice."</p><p>Rosalie had chosen to enter the kitchen at that moment, and she stopped in her tracks, staring at Esme. "I'm going to what?" Rosalie had never liked Nichole, and Nichole could never figure out why. The others had all told her not to worry about it too much, but Nichole wanted to at least know <em>why </em>Rosalie hated her so much.</p><p>"It could give you two some bonding time." Esme said, causing Rosalie to scoff. "I don't <em>want </em>to bond with her. I've been against her being here from the very start, you know that."</p><p>"Rosalie-"</p><p>"No, I'm not being her chauffeur. Get Alice to do it, she adores the human, right? I'm sure that she wouldn't mind carting her back and forth." Rosalie stalked out of the kitchen, and Esme looked at Nichole, who was staring down at her hands. "Nichole, don't-"</p><p>"Don't worry about it?" Nichole shook her head as she stood up. "It's kind of hard to not worry about it when Rosalie clearly hates me." Nichole started to gather up her books. "I'm going to go and finish my work in my room."</p><p>Esme sighed as Nichole walked away. If Nichole knew Rosalie's reasoning behind things, then she would understand. But it wasn't Esme's place to tell her, the only one that could tell her was Rosalie. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Nichole's mind was too jumbled for her to focus on her schoolwork. She groaned in frustration, slamming her book shut. "Stupid algebra." She muttered, staring at the textbook spitefully. </p><p>There was a knock on the door before Edward entered the room. "Maybe you should take a break before you throw that out the window." He remarked, and Nichole rolled her eyes. "If that happened, then I would just steal yours to use."</p><p>"So that's where my biology textbook went." Edward said with a small chuckle.</p><p>"I'm guessing that you're here because of what happened in the kitchen." Nichole commented, and Edward nodded his head. "Don't take what Rosalie said to heart, it's nothing that you've done, she just isn't a big fan of humans in general."</p><p>"I've gathered that." Nichole replied dryly. "But that doesn't mean that she has to look at me like she wished that I was dead."</p><p>"She doesn't wish that you were dead." Edward let out a long sigh. "Look, I can't tell you everything about her, because a lot of it isn't mine to tell. But what I can tell you is that you have something that Rosalie wants, something that she wants but will never be able to have."</p><p>"And what might that be?"</p><p>"You're human. Normal. Rosalie would give anything to have that."</p><p>Nichole blinked in surprise. The thought that any of them wouldn't want the gifts that had been given to them had never occurred to Nichole. </p><p>"It's true that great abilities come with being a vampire." Edward continued. "But there are also great drawbacks as well. You have a lust for human blood that never really goes away, one that can take you years to learn how to control. We're still trying to get Jasper to learn how to control his blood lust. He's gotten better, but he still has his moments, as do we all."</p><p>Nichole was ashamed to admit that she hadn't really thought of that. What must it be like to not be able to control your lust for human blood? Nichole couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like, to have a hunger for human blood that she couldn't control. She understood now why some of them were concerned about her being there, and if it really became a problem, then Nichole wouldn't hesitate to leave, she didn't want to be the reason why there was strife in the Cullen family.</p><p>"Carlisle and Esme aren't going to let you run off." Edward said. Him and his mind-reading was going to take a little while for Nichole to get used to. "Esme loves you like you were her own flesh, she isn't going to be letting you go all that easily."</p><p>"I just...I don't want to be the reason why you guys argue with each other."</p><p>"We're family." Edward said with a laugh. "We're going to argue with each other no matter what. Now, let me ask you something, Nichole. Are you happy here?"</p><p>Nichole didn't even have to pause and think about what her answer would be, the answer was immediate. "Yes, I'm happy here. I honestly haven't been this happy ever since my mother died." Nichole wondered why Edward had asked her that when he could have just read her mind to find out the answer.</p><p>Nichole glanced out the window, and her eyes widened at what she was seeing. There was a huge wolf there, pitch-black in color. It was larger than any wolf could or should be. "Edward, do you see that, or am I just imagining things?"</p><p>Edward glanced at the wolf, frowning. "That's Sam Uley, a..." He wrinkled his nose. "Werewolf." </p><p>"Werewolf?" Nichole gasped. Honestly, it shouldn't have surprised Nichole that werewolves were real. If vampires were real, then that would mean that other supernatural creatures were real too.</p><p>"Carlisle made a pact a long time ago with a werewolf named Ephraim Black." Edward explained. "We don't cross into their territory, and they don't cross into ours. We leave the residents of Forks alone, and they don't try to mingle in our affairs. We already have enough to deal with, and we don't need a bunch of dogs added into the mix as well. Stay away from them, Nichole." Edward left the room, and Nichole looked out the window again, but the wolf was gone.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>That following week, Nichole had track tryouts. Usually, they didn't let anyone join in the middle of the school year, but Emmett explained that he had managed to pull some strings with the track coach. "I promised Coach Jackson that you had a lot of promise, so you better not let me down." He told Nichole teasingly the day before her tryout.</p><p>"Great, so no pressure, then." Nichole stated, rolling her eyes, and Emmett laughed as he ruffled her hair. "I know that you'll do great." He told her before walking away, and Nichole smiled softly, she still wasn't quite used to people believing in her, it was a feeling that she was slowly starting to get used to. </p><p>The next morning, Nichole went to school with Jasper and Alice. Edward had left early, and since Rosalie didn't want anything to do with Nichole, Emmett didn't think that it would be a good idea for Nichole to ride with them in his Jeep, the last thing that he needed was to explain to Carlisle and Esme how Rosalie had snapped Nichole's neck or drank her dry or something like that.</p><p>After breakfast, Nichole walked out to the garage with Alice and Jasper, getting into Alice's car, a Porsche 911 Turbo. Nichole honestly didn't see why all of the Cullen siblings needed cars that ran over a hundred miles an hour, but she didn't complain about it. However, depending on who she was with, she would usually be holding on for dear life in the backseat.</p><p>Alice was one of the drivers that did this to Nichole. "I don't know what you're so worried about." She said as they drove along, the car's tires squealing as they made the various twists and turns. Once they got to town, Alice would slow down a bit, but for right now, she was driving as fast as she could while safely maneuvering the car. Which Nichole thought was still way too fast.</p><p>"I could help you calm down a little bit." Jasper offered, and Nichole shook her head. "No thanks, I'll be fine...probably." She knew that sooner or later she would get used to how fast they all drove, although it would probably be later rather than sooner. </p><p>Once they pulled into the school parking lot, Nichole quickly clambered out of the car. </p><p>"I'll be here after your tryout to pick you up." Alice told Nichole. "It ends at four, doesn't it?"</p><p>"I think so." Nichole said, nodding her head. Her tryout was at three-thirty, and honestly, how much running would the coach have her doing in a half-hour?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As it turned out, the coach had her doing a <em>lot </em>of running. Coach Daniel Cummings was young, maybe in his early thirties. He was clean-shaven, and he pushed his athletes to their limits. "Just because you're with the Cullens, it doesn't mean that I'm going to be taking it easy on you." </p><p>"I'm not expecting you to." Nichole retorted, she already had a strong dislike for the man, and she had a feeling that the dislike she had for him would only get worse as time went on. He had her run around the track a couple of times, making some notes on his clipboard, probably keeping track of her times and such. "Alright Williams, consider me mildly impressed, you're faster than you look. Practices are every day from three to four, and meets are on Saturdays. You're going to have to put a lot of dedication into this, and frankly, I don't know if you're up for that, I've had girls that have given up in the first week."</p><p>Ah, so that explained things. He was a sexist. Honestly, Nichole shouldn't have been too surprised by that, there were quite a few people like that in Forks. "I think that you'll find I'm not like most girls, Coach." She said to him. "When I dedicate myself to something, then I give it my all."</p><p>"We'll just have to see about that. Get going, I'll see you tomorrow."</p><p>Nichole had started to jog off the track when she heard someone walking up to her, and she turned, thinking that maybe it had been the coach with some more smart-ass comments to tell her. </p><p>But it wasn't. It was a boy around Nichole's age, he had brown curly hair and bright blue eyes that shone with intelligence. But there was something else in those eyes, something dark, and warning bells rang in Nichole's head, but she plastered a smile on her face. </p><p>"Hey, Nichole, right?"</p><p>"Um, yeah," Nichole said, taking a few steps back, but he continued to follow her. </p><p>"My name's Alex. Listen, don't pay any attention to Coach Cummings, he always finds something wrong with his athletes, so I wouldn't let it get you down too much."</p><p>"Thanks for the advice, but I've never let just a few words get me down before, and I have no intention of doing so now."</p><p>"I like that, I like a girl that has some fire in her. Listen, there's a bunch of us going to grab some pizza tomorrow, you should come with us."</p><p>"Um, sorry, but I don't think that I'll be able to"</p><p>"Oh come on, it'll be fun." From the way that Alex was talking, it was like he wasn't giving her too much of a choice in the matter, and he was starting to remind Nichole all too much of her father. Nichole looked around, but Alice hadn't arrived yet, and Coach Cummings had gone back inside the school, leaving just Nichole and Alex out on the track. Alex grabbed her arm, and Nichole winced from the force of it.</p><p>"As I said, a bunch of us are going out for pizza tomorrow, and I want you to come." He said, his voice becoming impatient. It had a steely tone to it now, making Nichole think that she wouldn't like the end results if she didn't go along.</p><p>"Hey, jackass." Suddenly Emmett was there, and he didn't look too happy with what he was seeing. "Why don't you step away from my sister?"</p><p>Alex raised his hands up in defense, backing up from Nichole. "Hey, easy man, we were just having a casual conversation."</p><p>"It didn't look all that casual to me. In fact, it looked like you were hurting her."</p><p>"I didn't hurt her." Alex looked at Nichole. "Right?"</p><p>"R-right." Nichole said quietly. The last thing that she needed was for Emmett to kill someone. </p><p>"Come on Nichole, let's get you home." Emmett said, and Nichole nodded her head, quickly scurrying over to her foster brother's side. Emmett wrapped an arm around Nichole, leading her towards the parking lot. </p><p>"Where's Alice?" Nichole asked as she got into his Jeep. Rosalie wasn't there, thank goodness.</p><p>"Alice had one of her visions a little bit after we got home from school." Emmett explained as he helped Nichole into her seat before getting in himself. "She saw someone, probably that douchebag, hurting you. She was going to come here herself, but I left before she had the chance to. Seriously, are you okay, though? Did he hurt you at all?"</p><p>"W-well, he did grab my arm kind of tightly-"</p><p>"Let me see."</p><p>Nichole let Emmett take her arm, and he scowled darkly. "You're already starting to bruise, he must have grabbed you really tightly. I swear to God that I'm gonna kill that mother-"</p><p>"Emmett, I'm fine, it'll heal. I'm just thankful that you arrived when you did. Look, let's just go home, okay? I have a lot of homework that I have to do when I get home anyway, and I'm starving to boot."</p><p>"Fine, but if that asshole comes anywhere near you again, then I'm going to snap his neck right where he stands."</p><p>"My hero." Nichole said jokingly, and Emmett flashed her a grin. "What good is a big brother if he can't save his baby sister when she's in trouble?" He gave Nichole a little side hug before starting the Jeep and pulling out of the parking lot. He was going to be keeping a close eye on Nichole from now on, which was a good thing because Nichole's trouble with Alex was far from over.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>TW: Mention of rape</p><p> </p><p>Ever since the incident with Alex, the Cullen siblings made sure to stick close to Nichole while they were in school. Carlisle was none too happy about how Alex had treated Nichole. Nichole had never seen Carlisle truly angry before, but she had a feeling that this was pretty damn close to it. </p><p>"Carlisle, I'm fine, really." Nichole protested. After Emmett had brought her home and explained to the others what had happened and the bruise that he had seen, Carlisle had taken Nichole into his office so that he could examine her himself. </p><p>"That boy can't be allowed around you," Carlisle said as he looked at the bruise on her arm. "He would have seriously hurt you if Emmett hadn't shown up. I don't want him anywhere around you. I'm going to talk to Chief Swan about this, get a restraining order against him."</p><p>"How are you going to do that?" Nichole objected, shaking her head. "I'm still going to be going to school with the guy, so it's not like he'll be able to keep his distance from me."</p><p>In the end, it was decided that the Cullen siblings would all be taking turns sticking by Nichole and making sure that Alex didn't try anything, depending on who had what class with her.</p><p>Most of them didn't mind, Nichole had quickly become like a sister to them, even though she wasn't a vampire like they were. The only one that had a problem with it was Rosalie.</p><p>"It's bad enough that she's living with us now, but you're expecting us to play babysitter?!"</p><p>Carlisle had gathered everyone in the living room to tell them what the game plan was. Most of them agreed with it, agreeing that the only way to keep Nichole safe at school was to have at least one of them be with her at all times.</p><p>"Rosalie..." Esme said imploringly. "We're just trying to keep Nichole safe-"</p><p>"That's all that we've ever done since she came here! I'm sick of it, it's like none of us even matter anymore, it's all about her now!"</p><p>"It's not Esme's fault," Nichole said quietly, trying to deescalate the situation.</p><p>"No, you're right, it's not her fault, it's <em>yours</em>." Rosalie snarled at Nichole. She zoomed over to Nichole, inches away from her face. "We were perfectly fine until you came along, <em>human</em>. You know what you did? You ruined our lives, things were so much easier without you here, we didn't have to try and control ourselves all the time!"</p><p>"What the hell is your problem with me?!" Nichole snapped, she had finally had enough of Rosalie's attitude towards her.</p><p>"Uh oh..." Edward murmured. "She's pushed Nichole's limit now."</p><p>"I haven't done a single thing to you!" Nichole shouted at Rosalie. "I haven't hurt you in any way, so what the hell is your deal with me? Is it just because I'm human? Is that it?! Well, let me tell you something, Rosalie. Being human isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Do you have any idea how good you have it with your abilities? I would give anything to have what you have! If I had powers like that, I would have been able to stand up to my father, he wouldn't have nearly killed me that night in the woods if Carlisle hadn't found me-"</p><p>Rosalie growled and she grabbed Nichole, gripping her by the neck and pinning her to the wall. "Don't think that you know anything about me or anything else here. You know <em>nothing</em>. If you knew what had happened to cause us to become like this, to cause <em>me </em>to become like this, you would be thinking differently. You weren't raped and beaten within an inch of your life!"</p><p>Nichole couldn't answer, she was gasping for air, her eyes wide as saucers. Her skin was starting to turn blue, and Rosalie tightened her grip, even more, pure hate and fury in her eyes. </p><p>Emmett grabbed Rosalie, pulling her away from Nichole, and Nichole crumpled to the ground, gasping and wheezing as she tried to catch her breath. </p><p>"Get Rosalie out of here," Carlisle ordered Emmett as he knelt beside Nichole, helping her to sit up. Nichole tried to speak, but Carlisle shook his head. "Don't try and talk right now, alright? Your throat looks like it's pretty damaged. I'm sorry, I didn't know that Rosalie would take things to this level. I knew that she had a certain dislike for you, but I thought that it was something that she would get over in time. Go and lay down, okay? Don't try and talk for a few days. You'll be fine, but your throat is going to be pretty hoarse for the next couple of days at the very least."</p><p> </p><p>Later that night, as Nichole laid on her bed, she could hear Rosalie and Carlisle arguing downstairs. She knew that it was about her, it couldn't be about anything else.</p><p>"She should have never come to live with us!" Rosalie shouted. "She's just made things harder for everyone. You know that Jasper is still having a hard time trying to control his blood lust, do you have any idea how hard it's been for him to try and control himself around her?"</p><p>"I couldn't just leave her in the woods, Rosalie," Carlisle said, trying to keep his voice down so that Nichole didn't hear him. "If she hadn't come with us, then she would have died, you know that-"</p><p>"Maybe you should have just left her there, I know that things would have gone a whole lot better for us if you hadn't come across her."</p><p>Tears started to go down Nichole's face. Was Rosalie right? Would things have been better for the Cullens if she had never come to live with them? It seemed like all Nichole had done was cause turmoil in the family, and that had been the kind of thing that she had been trying to avoid. Nichole walked to her window, sliding it open. Where her bedroom was, there was a sturdy vine of ivy that led down to the porch. Nichole climbed silently out her window, scaling down the ivy. Maybe if she was gone, then things will go better for the Cullens. After climbing down the ivy, Nichole took one last look at the house before dashing off into the woods.</p>
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